A UK diplomat is working for the firm behind a multimillion pound Saudi PR drive while still employed by the Foreign Office, it has been revealed. It comes as Saudi Arabia’s powerful Crown Prince prepares for his trip to Britain.

Jolyon Welsh, whose Foreign Office roles have included deputy head of Middle East, was given special unpaid leave in 2014 to become a senior director of Consulum, according to the Bureau of Investigative Journalism. The communications firm was founded by former executives from Bell Pottinger, the agency that collapsed last year after a scandal over a campaign for South Africa’s Gupta family.